After countless shortlist stories and rumors concerning who would play Star-Lord in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, the search for the lead role is finally over, and fittingly the actor is someone who never appeared on any of the aforementioned lists. Deadline reports that Chris Pratt has been tapped to play Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, a character who was born of a human mother and alien father, and is a master strategist and combat expert who wears an ability-enhancing suit and pilots a psychically-linked ship. As Guardians features a cast of strange and cosmic characters, Quill was an important role to fill because he will likely act as the audience’s introduction to the vast, unfamiliar Guardians world. Hit the jump for more.

There were plenty of actors rumored for the role that made a lot of sense (John Krasinski, Zachary Levi, etc.), and Deadline notes that Marvel made test deals with Joel Edgerton, Jack Huston, Lee Pace, and Eddie Redmayne, but Chris Pratt actually seems like a perfect fit. His comic timing is excellent as evidenced by his work on NBC’s Parks and Recreation, and he’s shown his talent on the dramatic side with Moneyball and 2012’s Zero Dark Thirty, for which he also proved that he can beef up for a role if need-be.

Looking back on the previous shortlists and taking Pratt into consideration, it’s clear that writer/director James Gunn is planning on injecting a good amount of humor into Guardians of the Galaxy. A rumor surfaced recently that Marvel was looking at possibly tapping Jim Carrey or Adam Sandler to do voice work in the film (one of the guardians is a talking raccoon), so I’m interested to see the tone that Gunn settles on for the finished film.

With the role of Star-Lord secure, Gunn and Marvel now look to filling out the rest of the cast, which includes the powerful Drax the Destroyer, a giant tree named Groot, the aforementioned Rocket Raccoon, and the female lead Gamora. The story is also rumored to involve the villain Thanos. Expect to hear more soon as production gears up to begin later this year. Guardians of the Galaxy will be released in 3D on August 1, 2014.